The next morning, when Noreen turned her phone back on, she saw a series of messages from Seth on WhatsApp.


    [Noreen, we need to talk.]


    [I won''t take up much of your time.]


    [Phone call or in person, whatever works for you.]


    He must have given up when she didn''t reply. Noreen deleted the chat thread without hesitation.


    As she was getting ready, her phone rang again. It was Seth. Noreen nced at the clock: 6:30 AM. He really was desperate. In all the years she''d known him, she had never seen him so frantic over anyone.


    Even so, she had no intention of answering. In the matter of Lana, she was the victim. No one was going to guilt-trip her into submission. She ignored his call, and the next two that followed.


    What she didn''t expect was for him to show up at her office, waiting for her.


    "Turn the car around," Noreen told Colby tly. "Take me to Rivercrest University."


    She quickly sent a message to Sophia, instructing her to cancel the morning''s in- person meeting and reschedule it as a video conference. In the end, Noreen conducted her meeting from a bench on the university quad.


    She finished early and made her way to the lecture hall. Halley was giving another guest lecture today. This time, she got a good seat.


    After settling in, she buried her nose in her study materials. Students began to file in, and soon the seat next to her was upied. Noreen assumed it was just another student and paid no mind.


    It wasn''t until the lecture was about to begin that she looked up, stretching her stiff neck. As she turned her head, she saw a familiar face.


    "Director Novak? When did you get here?"


    Noreen was stunned. She couldn''t fathom what would bring Padgett Novak to a lecture by Professor Joyner. Their worlds seemedpletely separate.


    Padgett''s eyes crinkled with a warm smile. "I''ve been here for a little while. You were so deep in your studies, I didn''t want to disturb you."


    "Are you here for work?"


    "I have the day off. Just thought I''d look around campus," he replied smoothly, omitting the part about why he had chosen this particr campus.


    A few days ago, Henry Brooke had called him. In the middle of their chat, he''d casually mentioned that Noreen was applying to Professor Joyner''s graduate program. Thement stuck with Padgett He looked up the professor''s lecture schedule at Rivercrest University, guessed Noreen might attend, and decided to try his luck. The moment he walked in and saw her, he knew he''d been right.


    Noreen, however, was oblivious, believing it to be a pure coincidence. "You''re going to listen to the lecture without a pen or paper?" she asked.


    "I was hoping you''d share," Padgett said, not missing a beat.


    "Of course," Noreen replied, generously offering him a spare notebook and pen.


    Bianca arrivedte, forced to take a seat in a far corner. As the lecture began, her gaze drifted toward the front, and the first people she saw were Noreen and Padgett Novak.


    Even with Noreen''s back to her, Bianca recognized her immediately. But it was the man sitting beside her who truly shocked her.


    Normally, Bianca wouldn''t waste a moment''s thought on Noreen. But she couldn''t help but notice that while Noreen''s attention was fixed, on the stage, Padgett''s was often fixed on Noreen.


    She couldn''t understand it. Why would a man like Padgett Novak associate with a woman like Noreen? He had no reason to be at this lecture he wasn''t applying to grad school. Had Noreen invited him?